Wheeling, W. Va. – After a long preseason that began in early October, the Wheeling University Men's Basketball team (0-0, 0-0) is ready to take the court for the first time in 2024-2025. They kick things off at the annual West Liberty Tip-off Classic, with a pair of matchups against opponents from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSUAC). It kicks off on Friday night, when the team battled Bluefield State at 7:30 PM, and they wrap up the weekend against West Chester Saturday, with tip-off at 3 PM.
The 2023-2024 season was another one in which the Cardinals competed every night and they started to reap the benefits of that competition. They improved their overall win total by four games, finishing 10-19, and improved their Mountain East Conference (MEC) win total by two games, going 6-14. Wheeling battled against tough competition early in the year, and picked up a statement win just before the half when they beat the University of Charleston 81-80 on a lash second tip-in. As they battled through the second half of the season, Wheeling put together some of their best basketball in February. They went 5-4 in the month and claimed the #9 seed in the tournament. They would take on #8 Notre Dame College in the first round and battles to overtime, but their season would come to an end with a 100-98 loss.
Despite the Cardinals losing their top scorer from a season ago, they return a leader on offense in Point Guard Sean Ealy. Ealy was one of two Cardinals on the year to average double digit points per gamez, finishing with 14.2 PPG. Along with his work scoring the ball, Ealy was a strong presence on both sides of the court, sitting second on the team in both assists (64) and steals (23). After starting the year as the #1 guy off the bench, Ealy battled his way to the starting point guard spot and ran with it over the second half of the season. He came through big when his team needed him the most as he averaged 18.1 PPG over the final six games of the season, including a 24-point effort in the MEC Tournament game. He looks to once again lead the Cardinal effort this season on offense.
With Ealy at the helm, Wheeling will look to Caleb Murray to once again be a spark plug for the team. Murray was the Cardinal's sixth man off the bench throughout the 2023-2024 season and made his mark from three-point range. He shot 34% from beyond the arc, and sat third on the team with 42 three-pointers made on the season. Murray averaged 7.2 PPG during the season and will look to be another spark plug for the team in a heightened role this season. Along with the returning talent, the Cardinals bring in a new class of nine new recruits. Of those nine, four come in as transfers with previous college experience, looking to make an impact immediately and help the Cardinals get over the top.
The Cardinals get set to open the season at the West Liberty Classic, as they have for each of the past four seasons. It gives them a chance to see two different styles of teams in Bluefield State and West Chester as they prepare for the season. Against Bluefield State, the Cardinals will be tested with a tough press defense throughout the night. Meanwhile, against West Chester, the team will see a more technical team that will test them on both sides of the ball. The two contrasting styles will help the Cardinals as they prepare for the rigors of their MEC schedule, and they are looking to get off to a fast start. They have lost both games of the WLU Rip-off Classic in each of the last two seasons, and are looking to reverse that trend here in 2024-2025.
The Matchups
Bluefield State: The Cardinals and Bulldogs are meeting for the 24th time in program history, with Wheeling leading the all-time series at 22-2. It will mark the first meeting between the two teams in nine seasons, as the Cardinals look to continue their success, having won each of the last five games in the all-time matchup. It has been a high-scoring series overall for the Cardinals, with the team averaging 87.95 points per game, and they look to keep that success going. Their last meeting came on February 16th, 2015, in a game Wheeling won 107-92. Former Cardinal Pat Moseh led the way with 18 points while former Cardinal Haywood Highsmith added a double-double with 11 points and 12 rebounds.
West Chester: The Cardinals and Rams are meeting for the seventh time in program history, with West Chester leading the all-time series at 4-2. The Cardinals are 0-2 all-time in neutral site games against West Chester, but are playing them for the first time since the 2018 season. The Cardinals fell last time out, but have had offensive success, averaging 71.68 PPG against the Rams. Their last meeting came back on March 10th, 2018, when West Chester picked up an 82-77 victory. The Cardinals were led by former Cardinal Haywood Highsmith, who finished with a double-double scoring 25 points and 13 rebounds, while former Cardinal Preston Pegram added 20 points.
The Details
Tip-off for Friday night's game is scheduled for 7:30 PM inside the Academic, Sports and Recreation Complex on the campus of Wheeling University. You can watch the game live by clicking HERE or follow along with Live Stats by clicking HERE.
